PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — The Placer County Sheriff's Office is taking a new approach to stopping fentanyl-related deaths by introducing a one-of-a-kind response team.
The lead detective for the team has a lot of experience holding drug dealers accountable, and he has big plans to expand his work.
Gone are the days when a fentanyl poisoning in Placer County ended solely at the coroner's office.
"Sheriff (Wayne) Woo became tired of seeing citizens die and citizens being affected by what fentanyl has done to essentially everywhere in this country," said Det. Patrick Craven, who is the Opioid Response Team lead detective.
About three weeks ago, Sheriff Woo officially launched one of the first opioid-focused teams in the state. They're calling it the Opioid Response Team. Detective Patrick Craven is the lead detective.
"Our mission is to respond out to all fentanyl-related deaths that occur within Placer County jurisdiction and to investigate where that person got fentanyl from and to also take a proactive approach within our community to our youth or at-risk individuals who suffer from addiction," said Det. Craven.
An initial response begins at the crime scene, then they hit the ground running.
It involves a thorough investigation looking at all the facts.
"Like a historic murder investigation involving a weapon, however, the weapon in this case is the fentanyl. And so it's using various investigative techniques through essentially trial and error that we've learned have been successful with these types of investigations," said Det. Craven.
A lot of evidence is obtained digitally, and if the evidence is there to charge someone, then they take action.
Detective Craven did not fall into this work by accident. He was previously on a narcotics team and has played a role in bringing other cases to court.
"My first case involving a fentanyl-related death occurred in 2020 when Zach Didier, a 17-year-old young man from Rocklin, died off of taking a counterfeit Percocet pill," said Det. Craven.
Since then, he and the district attorney's office have charged five people related to the death of someone.
The team is seeking justice and providing closure for the families who have lost a loved one.
"Within Placer County, the goal would be to move to a position where every death, even outside of our jurisdiction could be investigated fully," said Det. Craven.
Detective Craven says this is just the start. He says at some point he hopes a regional team will be developed, so all cases in Northern California are fully investigated.
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